Baton Rouge native and University High graduate Anne Williams isn’t letting 700 miles get in the way of seeing her favorite band, JJ Grey and Mofro.Williams is a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and plans to fly home to see the band at the Varsity Theatre tonight.”I saw them live at Rothbury Music Festival in Michigan last summer, and they were so great,” Williams said. “I’ve been dying to see them again and thought it would be a good reason to go home this weekend for a visit.”JJ Grey and Mofro blend rock music with plenty of groove-heavy blues and dirty funk. The band has toured with a variety of acts including the Hill Country Revue, which played at the Varsity last week and Louisiana’s own Galactic.Singer and songwriter JJ Grey is a Jacksonville, Fla., native, and his songs are undeniably Southern in sound and subject.”That’s where I’m from, and that’s the music that moves me,” Grey said. “I’m from the South, and I’m singing about home, so it’s always going to be Southern and swampy.”But Grey didn’t always embrace his Southern heritage and home. At one time, he was living in Australia and planning to move there, but he changed his mind and decided to move home to begin a career in music.”It dawned on me that what’s important is my connection with the dirt,” Grey said. “I write these songs to remind myself, not to enlighten anyone else or tell anyone else how to live. I do it to tell    myself what I need to remember.”Grey prides himself on being a new addition to a long history of Southern storytellers.”My whole family are storytellers,” Grey said. “You have to fight for the floor at the family reunion.”All of Grey’s songs are about something he has experienced firsthand.”I write songs and record albums because I need to remind myself of what’s important, and usually those things are pretty   personal,” Grey said. “But  personal becomes universal because we are all the same animals. We all woke up and were here, and that can be the most personal and the most universal thing at the same time.”Lauren Austin, a second-year student at the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport said she loves the band’s sound and feels they really put their souls into the music.”Their music makes them seem like they’d be cool as hell to hang out with and seem very down to earth,” Austin said. “They’re proud of their roots and have found a creative way to use their talents and passions that we all benefit from.”Tonight’s show is part of the Orange Blossoms release tour, which spans 31 cities. The show is actually a make-up gig to replace a show that was canceled because of Hurricane Gustav last year.”Orange Blossoms” was released in August on Alligator Records, regarded by many as the top contemporary blues record label in the world.Grey said he’s especially proud of this record and it really spans the gamut of styles,         emotions and tempos. The album was recorded in northern Florida and features 12 songs recorded with long-time friend and guitarist Daryl Hance, bassist/organist Adam Scone, drummer Anthony Cole, saxophonist Art Edmaiston and trumpeter Dennis Mario.”I’ve been listening to Mofro for nearly five years now, and I can’t understand why they’ve yet to make a major impact in mainstream music,” said Cody Boudreaux, communication studies junior. “Instead, they’ve developed a loyal following among small venues across the country. But maybe that’s how it should be, as Mofro’s sound is rooted in the tiny bars and juke joints that have influenced the Southern music landscape for generations.”The show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the Chimes box office or online at varsitytheatre.com.”I am looking forward to Baton Rouge. It has always been good to us,” Grey said. “And the food is always good there.”—-Contact Jack LeBlanc at [email protected]